Minitab 15 Tips and Tricks

1. Minitab� 15 Tips and Tricks Use the Weld Strength.xls and Production.mdb files. Use the Weld Strength.xls and Production.mdb files.

2. Importing and Manipulating Data Worksheets Graphics Customizing Minitab Additional Tips

3. Importing Excel Files In Minitab, choose File > Open Worksheet

4. Importing Excel Files In the File > Open Worksheet dialog, use Options and Preview before opening file

5. Importing Excel Files Correctly-formatted sheets open into separate worksheets

6. Importing Data from a Database In Minitab, choose File > Query Database (ODBC), select Machine Data Source and then your database

7. Importing Data from a Database Select the tables and fields that you want to import Select Use rows� to specify a condition statement Production.mdb � A productivity improvement team tracks equipment downtime for two manufacturing lines. For each manufacturing line, daily production sheets track downtime information. At the end of each day, the manufacturing clerk enter info about each downtime occurrence into a Microsoft Access database. [This data used until slide 22.] If you get a account/user name error, choose Start > Control Panel > Admin Tools > Data Sources (ODBC) > select MS Access Database > Configure > under System Database, select None > OK > OK.Production.mdb � A productivity improvement team tracks equipment downtime for two manufacturing lines. For each manufacturing line, daily production sheets track downtime information. At the end of each day, the manufacturing clerk enter info about each downtime occurrence into a Microsoft Access database. [This data used until slide 22.] If you get a account/user name error, choose Start > Control Panel > Admin Tools > Data Sources (ODBC) > select MS Access Database > Configure > under System Database, select None > OK > OK.

8. Tally Individual Variables Use Stat > Tables > Tally Individual Variables to get a list of unique values for a given column Tally will help you easily identify any inconsistencies Using the imported data from Production.mdb�Using the imported data from Production.mdb�

9. Coding and Conversion Tables Use Data > Code > Text to Text if you need to code up to 8 values Use Data > Code > Conversion Table to code any number of text or numeric values Data > Code > Use Conversion Table Input Column: Reason Output Column: Reason Conversion Table Column of Original Values: c8 Column of New Values: c9Data > Code > Use Conversion Table Input Column: Reason Output Column: Reason Conversion Table Column of Original Values: c8 Column of New Values: c9

10. After Data are Coded Now we can create Pareto charts, get Descriptive Statistics, etc. for the downtime reasons

11. Value Order Value order determines the ordering of variables Right-click on a column and choose Column > Value Order to define an order

12. Change Data Type Suppose you import data and find that a numeric column is incorrectly formatted as text Use Data > Change Data Type > Text to Numeric to change the column format

13. Importing and Manipulating Data Worksheets Graphics Customizing Minitab Additional Tips

14. Formulas in the Worksheet Use Calc > Calculator to assign formulas to columns in the worksheet Columns update when data in the worksheet change

15. Worksheet and Column Descriptions Right-click on a column and choose Column > Description to add notes for future reference Right-click on to add a Worksheet Description

16. Worksheet Zooming Use the Control key and your mouse wheel to zoom in and out of the worksheet

17. Multiple Undo and Redo Use the arrows on the toolbar to undo or redo changes made to cells in the worksheet

18. Autofill Use autofill to create patterned data Use the Control key to create repeated patterned data

19. Importing and Manipulating Data Worksheets Graphics Customizing Minitab Additional Tips

20. Split Graph into Panels Right-click on a cluttered graph and choose Panel to reduce the clutter

21. Brushing Options We see strength values that are lower than expected and want to do further investigation Right-click > Brush > right-click > Set ID Variables

22. Brushing Options Brush multiple groups of points using the Shift key The brushing window shows that all lower weld strengths are associated with the third shift

23. Brushing Options The Data Options button for any Graph or Control Chart allows you to include or exclude data based on brushed rows

24. Subset Worksheet Use Data > Subset Worksheet to create a new worksheet based on a condition, brushed rows or specific row numbers

25. Graph Annotation Tools Toolbar Choose Tools > Toolbars to enable the Graph Annotation Tools toolbar The Graph Annotation Tools toolbar is useful for adding text, circles, and arrows to graphs

26. Graph Editing Toolbar Choose Tools > Toolbars to enable the Graph Editing toolbar The Graph Editing toolbar is useful for editing graphs and obtaining graph coordinates

27. Graph Editing Toolbar examples Use the Add List dropdown to add gridlines, reference lines, subtitles and data labels Use Crosshair mode to explore graphs

28. In-Place Graph Editing Double-click on the graph components to change fonts, colors, add a date/time stamp, etc. Right-click on the graph to add titles, gridlines, data labels, etc.

29. Extract from Date/Time Suppose we want to create the same boxplot, but use weekday instead of shift Use Data > Extract from Date/Time to create a weekdays column using the existing date column

30. Make Similar Graph

31. Layout Tool To combine multiple graphs into one window, choose Editor > Layout Tool

32. Updating Graphs Available for core graphs and Control Charts Right-click on icon in upper left corner to update graph Automatic Updates � sets graph to automatically update anytime data in worksheet change Update Graph � performs one-time update �Core graphs� corresponds to any graphs created using the Graph menu. Note: If you move columns, a core graph or control chart�s icon can turn to a white �X�. �Core graphs� corresponds to any graphs created using the Graph menu. Note: If you move columns, a core graph or control chart�s icon can turn to a white �X�.

33. Importing and Manipulating Data Worksheets Graphics Customizing Minitab Additional Tips

34. Tools > Options Use Tools > Options to set default preferences For example, specify a default file location that Minitab will go to when using File > Open Project

35. Tools > Options > My Footnote To easily keep track of which worksheet was used to create each graph, set a footnote to automatically display the worksheet name

36. Tools > Options > Descriptive Statistics Select the statistics you need when using Stat > Basic Statistics > Display Descriptive Statistics

37. Tools > Options > Capability Analysis Display Benchmark Z�s by default instead of Cp and Pp

38. Tools > Options > Residual Plots Display the Anderson-Darling Normality Test results on normal residual plots for regression, ANOVA and DOE

39. Exec macros If you need to conduct the same analysis on a regular basis, you can create an Exec macro to easily re-run the same analysis Click to go to the History window and highlight the desired commands

40. To save an Exec To save the commands as an Exec, right-click on the highlighted History commands and choose Save As� Save the *.MTB file to your hard-drive

41. To run an Exec Run the Exec at any time using File > Other Files > Run an Exec > Select File and browse to your *.MTB

42. Tools > Customize Use Tools > Customize to: Move, add, edit, or delete any item on a toolbar or menu Create a new toolbar or menu Set custom keystrokes for frequently used commands Add a button to call your Exec file To add a button to call an Exec, see http://www.minitab.com/support/answers/answer.aspx?log=0&id=1811To add a button to call an Exec, see http://www.minitab.com/support/answers/answer.aspx?log=0&id=1811

43. Tools > Customize to move or add To move or add toolbar or menu items, choose Tools > Customize and then click and drag

44. Tools > Customize to create new toolbars To create a new toolbar, use the Toolbars tab > New To add functions to a new toolbar, use the items available under the Commands tab The DMAIC toolbar is available at http://www.minitab.com/products/minitab/dmaic.aspx To create a new toolbar: Choose Tools > Customize > Toolbars tab > New Enter a toolbar name > OK Drag the new toolbar to the top of Minitab To add menu items to the toolbar: Click on the Commands tab Click and drag menus/commands up to the toolbar To add drop-down menus to the toolbar: Click on the Commands tab Select Categories: Tools and then click and drag the Commands: Toolbars up to the toolbarThe DMAIC toolbar is available at http://www.minitab.com/products/minitab/dmaic.aspx To create a new toolbar: Choose Tools > Customize > Toolbars tab > New Enter a toolbar name > OK Drag the new toolbar to the top of Minitab To add menu items to the toolbar: Click on the Commands tab Click and drag menus/commands up to the toolbar To add drop-down menus to the toolbar: Click on the Commands tab Select Categories: Tools and then click and drag the Commands: Toolbars up to the toolbar

45. Tools > Customize to create new menus To create a new menu, use the Commands tab > New Menu To add items to a new menu, click and drag the items available under the Commands tab To create a new menu: Choose Tools > Customize > Commands tab Select Categories: New Menu and then click and drag the Commands: New Menu up to the menu bar To add menu items to the new menu: Click on the Commands tab Click and drag menus/commands up to the menu To create a new menu: Choose Tools > Customize > Commands tab Select Categories: New Menu and then click and drag the Commands: New Menu up to the menu bar To add menu items to the new menu: Click on the Commands tab Click and drag menus/commands up to the menu

46. Creating a Profile To save all of your customizations, create a profile Click to create a new profile Use Tools > Manage Profiles to import or export a profile

47. Importing and Manipulating Data Worksheets Graphics Customizing Minitab Additional Tips

48. Using the ReportPad Use the ReportPad to write a report Right-click on a graph and choose Append Graph to Report Right-click on Session output and choose Append Section to Report Click on the toolbar�s to open the ReportPad

49. Saving and Exporting the ReportPad Save Report As saves the report as a .RTF or .HTML Move to Word Processor moves the ReportPad contents to your default word processor (i.e. cut and paste) Copy to Word Processor copies the ReportPad contents to your default word processor (i.e. copy and paste)

50. Help Help includes a glossary, methods and formulas, and examples Access Help from the Help menu, the toolbar, or from the Help button found in every dialog box

51. StatGuide StatGuide provides examples and their interpretation Access StatGuide from the Help menu or the toolbar

52. Number 1 Tip of All Free technical support offered by phone and online Phone +1-814-231-2MTB (2682) Web http://customer.minitab.com/ Answers Knowledgebase provides a collection of the most frequently asked questions and their answers http://www.minitab.com/answers

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